Jaipur, April 19 -- At least 160,000 education department staff, most of whom are teachers, will be barred from transfers due to Census duties, sparking protests from teachers' groups amid longstanding delays. "At least 169,000 enumerators have been appointed to conduct the Census survey from May 16. They have mostly been hired from the Education Department. Some of them were also hired from the local municipality. These staff cannot be transferred or appointed in a new post during the survey," said director of the census office in Rajasthan, Bishnu Charan Mallick. He added that the first phase of the Census for house listing will begin on May 16 and end on June 14, while the second phase for population enumeration will take place in February 2027. "Till the second phase gets over, any transfer and appointment will be frozen for these staff," said Mallick. Teachers' associations, however, has protested the move, as the transfer process has already been delayed for a long time. General secretary of Rajasthan United Teachers' Association, Vipin Pandey, said, "Several applied for transfer but couldn't get a nod as of now. The government must have had an idea about the Census. They should have taken necessary action before the Census."...